Asani Kosovani's Story

Location: Captial city Anatoli, just outside the guard house

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Oliver could have yawned, but it would have given away his position, and he was NOT about to do that, not after this three hour wait for the patrol shift. He slunk further into the crate beside the door, a small hole in the side was all that allowed him sight of the guard house. Finally, after all these hours, the guards walked up the door, looking tired and haggard. As the door shut behind them, Oliver slipped out of the crate, in a full guard's uniform. He shut the crate silently, and slipped through the door, dragging his feet as if exhausted, like the rest of the guards. There were a few grunts of acknowledgement as the shift was changed and the fresh and alert guards went out on patrol, while everyone on the previous patrol made for their bunks or their mead.

Oliver could only grin behind his perfectly replicated helmet, he'd have to thank the rebellion's smith again, and walked down the halls into an empty bunk. He shut the door and threw his clothes onto the bed, wearing his normal clothes beneath. He wouldn't need a disguise for this next part, and the armor would just get in the way. He hid the clothes under the bed and adjusted his pack and belts. He drew his hood over his face and checked his knife. He slowly peered into the empty hallway, only to be greeted with a cacophony of drunken snoring. Guards... at times, this job is to easy. he thought to himself. Shrugging and slipping into the hall, he slinked into the shadows and made his way to the captain's office.

This was to be a simple job. Sneak in, snag a sealed envelope in the captains office, get out, get paid. So far, it had gone off without a hitch. He sank to the ground next to the captain's door. No light, a good sign for him. He tired the door, but it was locked, he expected as such and had come prepared. He was always prepared for a lock. He slipped a few metallic instruments, all blackened to prevent light shining off of them, and turned his attention to the lock. With just a few prods and a twist, the door gave a nice, satisfying click, not to loud of course, and slowly swung open. He returned his tools to his bag and slipped into the room. He almost swore at the sight before him. The captain was asleep on his desk, envelope under his hand. Cursing his luck, Oliver made his way into the room and up to the desk, silent as a church mouse at mass, and slowly pulled at the envelope. He almost had it, soooo close, when the captain's eyes shot open.

"Evening Capn'." he said before pulling his knife, bashing the captain in the face with the pommel, and ripping the letter from his hand. As the captain reeled back, he ran and leaped through the window. He could hear the captain yelling even as he tumbled onto the roof of the adjacent building, screaming that he be captured immediately. Bells started to ring and torches were lit. Shit shit shit shit shit! It was such a simple plan! he screamed in his head. Well, he had prepared for this too. "Asani! I'm blown, I need an out, ASAP!" he thought as "loud" as he could, praying that Asani had maintained his post. If he didn't he was dead. He groaned as he leaped from roof top to roof top, keeping to the shadows where they still existed.

"As always then?" Asani said, having heard the mind of his comrade. He then removed his focus from the crystal ball in his lap and stood; leaning against the inner wall of the bell tower that just so happened to watch over Oliver's escape route. Asani began to fiddle with a strange lens in his hand as he stared amongst the roof tops, searching for his trouble making friend. Oddly enough that street rat was worth more than the trouble he caused... as such Asani couldn't afford to let him be captured. Just then the lens in his hand began to hum, Asani quickly placed it against his eye as he stared into the distance. Suddenly he could see Oliver clear as day as if he were a bird soaring over his shoulders. Oliver was quite the acrobat, leaping and rolling from rooftop to rooftop. But before he knew it a small group of guards spotted him and took aim with their bows. Oliver could hear one word flooding his head "Duck".

This was Asani's moment... Images of Oliver began to scatter, each in a different direction among the roof tops. Meanwhile the true Oliver slipped into an alleyway, safe as could be.

You had best stop getting caught, one day my imagination may just run dry and you'll have to fend for yourself...

Asani continued his ruse as many of the clones vanished behind cover or into the alleys. A single clone remained staring at the guards. He focused the residual energy of the other clones into it... now it could truly throw these guards for a loop. Sure they were already panicked after seeing that first stunt, but now he had to sell the moment. The false Oliver leapt off the roof and into the guards, arrows wizzing by. The Phantom danced gracefully through the guards, easily knocking them aside using Asani's knowledge and Oliver's form. The Phantom then burst while in the center of the squad, knocking them all unconscious. Soon these men would awake only to remember a strange figure dressed in all black wielding many chains, they would inform their superiors of course and another sighting of the infamous "Hood" would be recorded. It was quite the game for Asani, he had been replacing Oliver with this "Character" for some time. The legend of "Hood" would spread as their identities remained truly anonymous. Just another precaution Asani had learned to take in his days as a spy... Just then Oliver walked in, out of breath with a moonlike grin.

"I'm still surprised you can do all that leaping about and yet stairs get you every time..." Asani teased. "So, what was all of this about now? What is it you managed to get? And just so you know, I skipped lunch for this. We should visit a bakery once you've donned some appropriate clothing. After all, this city has some of the finest pastries."

Anatoli capitol city streets

Amongst the poor and the beggars a figure pushed his way through the surging tides of the crowd which travelled in every direction of the compass, though whether their aims and intentions were honourable was highly in doubt, indeed as was the the intentions of this figure from a certain point of view. The man was neither tall nor broad yet seemed to have an air of strength around him despite the cloak that covered his body and made him seem as if a leper, he would have been given a wider birth by the people of the city if the heaving streets had allowed it.

Before long he had turned and pushed his way out of the main street, down one of the many darkened alleyways, here his brown-clad body and heavily wrapped left arm seemed all to normal for the people who knew no different from the lives of petty crime, it was so that they would mistake him as a target, though it may give up small rewards. He was followed from dark alley to dark alley until at a cross roads he was caught up with by a lone thief. The criminal pushed the man against the wall and held a knife against his throat, he was not a trained killer else he would have placed the blade across the jugular or lower parts of the neck, instead he held it so the flat was resting against the cloaked man's chin, a messy cut to make, the thief demeaned money, his breath reeked of garlic and stale meats, it was not used to beggars fighting back. In a short motion the wrapped hand had rammed into the man's ribs, a number of cracks reported that they had been broken in several places, the brown wrappings fell from the hand to reveal The Black Gauntlet. As the thief knelt whimpering the cloaked man gave him hardly a second thought as he strode off deeper into the city, no longer needing to keep his Gauntlet covered. A voice drifted out from a door, the aim of his long walk.

"After all, this city has some of the finest pastries." It was a voice he knew well, as he had worked with the man for some time now, though he disliked the casualness that his fellow rebel enjoyed, he himself had no powers of illusion and could only rely on his martial skills to keep himself alive. He pushed open the thin wooden door from which the voice had originated from and swiftly climbed the stairs to the top of the bell tower, taking a moment to pause before his two comrades before he pulled down his hood from his face. His very presence in the city would result in the death of all he talked to, if he were found.

"I hardly think." He began, turning his attention to the illusionist. "That filling our stomachs, is the most pressing matter right now. That letter." He motioned to the boy, still clutching his precious cargo. "Is far more valuable to our efforts than you realise." He didn't much care if he came across as standoffish or aggressive, all he cared for right now was the task he had been given, ensuring that the letter was secured and did not fall out of the Rebellions hands once acquired, eating could come later

As he was running along the rooftops, he heard rather bluntly "Duck." Knowing that Asani was always watching, Oliver slammed down on the roof, only a second before arrows whizzed past his head. He sighed with relief and rolled his body forward and sprang back into a run, only for several copies of him to appear and spread out in different directions. He grinned and took off towards a nearby alley way, watching the guards stare in confusion at the many clones. He laughed aloud, a mad, cackling laugh of someone happy to be alive, of someone mad enough to go against the queen. Quite suddenly, Oliver saw his chance to slip away. Grinning like the mad bastard he was, he jumped from the roof and grasped an empty flag post over hanging an alleyway. His momentum swung him 360 degrees around the pole before he let go and was flung into a dark corner of the alley, safe for now. He took a few moments to collect himself before darting through the alley ways towards the bell tower where Asani was waiting.

Well apparently not all the guards had seen the clones, cause a few were in the alley just in front of the tower. Their backs however, were turned to him. He quickly and silently scaled a nearby building. He'd have to go the rest of the way on the roof tops where there were less guards. Making sure there were no guards in each alley before leaping across to the next roof top, Oliver slowly but surely made his way to the bell tower. He didn't trust the streets not to be full of guards... so he grinned again, and flew through an open window and caught himself on its sill before he was flung to his death, for this window was directly next to the stair case. He sighed with relief and shut the window before jogging his way up the stairs, by this point he was exhausted. He pushed the door open to the top of the bell tower and grinned at Asani, only to be teased about running up stairs.

"You skipped lunch? I skipped lunch and spent it in a crate. It still reeked of onions by the way... Three hours, my only company was the reek of onion." He laughed and removed his hooded coat, wearing a simple white cotton shirt beneath, as well as his knife and tool bag. He wrapped these in his coat and slung it over his shoulder, looking much like a simple carry bag. He was about to answer Asani's question with Talbot walked in, asking for the letter. Oliver nodded and handed the older gentleman the blank envelope. "Don't forget my payment, other wise I'll have to steal it back! What's in this thing anyway? Orders for our execution?" As if that hadn't been a real possibility in the past.

Anatoli capitol city belltower

Is far more valuable to our efforts than you realise.

Asani turned his attention from the thief to the cloaked man filling the door way, his thoughts beginning to drift about. "Ah, the good sir has arrived. I was watching you earlier." Asani pointed at the crystal ball, "I suppose the bakery can wait... It has been some time since we've had the luxury of all being in one place without the threat of the queens dog interrupting us." Asani was of course referring to Talbot's enigmatic shadow, a figure that had in fact been trailing all three of them since they had begun plotting insurrection; no doubt a servant of the Queen, Asani was sure they didn't have a clue the rebellion was aware of their presence. Asani had gone through rigorous preparations to ensure the belltower and its surrounding area were safe, there were all manner of defensive enchantments of the illusive persuasion. Minor enchantments but enchantments none the less, after all Asani had studied much more than he should have while in the queens service... there had been more than one occasion where Asani found strange markings, barely visible, almost hidden. He had devoted quite a bit of time towards understanding those runes, as fate would have it he had to terminate his contract before he could get a full understanding, since then he had developed his own form... admittedly sloppy when compared to the elegant works in the castle, but they still did their job. A fact that Asani had taken pride in, considering he had several successful attempts to place enchantments on some of Oliver's equipment. Asani had clearly lost himself in his thoughts, he realized he was staring off into the city, he didn't even notice he had turned away from his comrades. He collected himself only to find Sir Talbot and Oliver were leaning over the table in the center of the room talking about plans for some ball, he knew they would get him up to speed when they were done. Drifting away was a curse of his magic, something that couldn't be helped... it had grown more frequent but fortunately Asani could still focus when put to a task, his meditation made sure of that. Asani resigned himself to tinkering with his tools, he had quite the project in mind for his dagger and it was going to take time... precious time.

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Anatoli Capitol, among the streets

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Another day, another hopeless hunt for pesky rebellion members, something Fia'ye didn't like when she was out of the castle, which wasn't exactly common, but she came out somewhat often, especially when the maids are all flustered and running about for some reason she never could understand. Though today, the now pissed off captain in the guardhouse had asked for her to find the 'Damned Thieves!' Which she was now doing. Riding upon her Silver-white horse named Reinna, she proceeded to where she could possibly see the fleeing thieves, instead of checking each gate one-by-one. Thus, she went to the best vantage point she could have thought of, the clock tower.

As she approached the tower, Reinna stopped, and she felt an enchanted presence from within the grounds, 'There's magic in there... Who would place enchantments in a peaceful ground like so? Topping it off, they feel like- The runes from the castle! Of course!' she thought, getting off of Reinna, spear in hand. Fia'ye looked at the tower, before whistling Reinna away and sighing, it was going to be a long day for her. She walked into the tower, by now the enchantments she broke through must had alerted the one whom placed the enchantments, thus she spoke, echoing up the tower,

"Knock, Knock. Is there anyone in here?" she asked, before proceeding rapidly up towards the top of the tower, spear in hand, and ready to attack.

Anatoli Clocktower

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Before Oliver and Talbot could really begin to discuss their plans regarding the ball, apparently the letter he'd managed to steal had been an invitation, Asani's head snapped to attention and he said that someone had entered the tower. Oliver swore, shoved the invitation into Talbot's hand and threw his belongings into a corner. "Asani, make the two of you invisible and keep absolutely silent. I'll take care of the rest." He turned his back to the pair, confident that Asani would be able to handle his job. The room was to orderly to be home to a squatting orphan, so he quickly kicked over the table and broke it in a few places, kicking up quite a bit of dust as he did. He went over to the window and ripped up and then ripped off the curtains, laying them out in a corner of the room next to his things, a makeshift bed suitable of any street urchin. He took his knife out of the bag as well as his lunch, he hadn't dared to eat it so close to the guard house, a very stale piece of bread, and placed them down. Lastly, he turned his attention to his own appearance. He scooped up some soot and dirt from the window sill and unashamedly smeared it over his face and clothes, even going as far as tearing his shirt collar a tad and stretching out the sleeves.

The stage set, he sat down in the corner of the room that faced the door, drew his knife and waited. He clutched his meager meal to his chest and attempted to look as fearful and pathetic as a frightened street urchin, which wasn't all that hard considering that he WAS a street urchin, and he was most certainly scared. His knife hand shook a little as he heard their enemies footsteps climbing the stairs of their base. He gulped and even jumped a little as they forced the locked door open and held his knife at arms length between him and his assailant. Oddly though, his foe was a woman wielding a spear, and not wearing a guard's uniform. A knight maybe? Regardless he had a part to play, and he needed to do it well if they were to survive.

"W-Who are you!? I haven't done nothing! Go away, this is my bread!" he yelled at the woman in a panicked voice, his breathing heavy and his face a mask of fear and filth. The room was equally messy, the furniture broken and covered in thick layers of dust.

Anatoli -- Clock Tower

As Fia'ye approached the top of the clock tower, she would have enjoyed being sneaky, but there was always someone in here, which she has startled a couple of times. Though she was hearing what sounded like frantic footsteps and eventually a loud noise followed by snapping. Fia'ye was no Sherlock Holmes, but she knew when something was suspicious. Approaching the top, she paused before opening the door, having no idea weather or not the person inside was hostile or not, she prepared her spear and opened the door gently, seeing what looks like a starving dirty orphan whom was brandishing a knife.

"W-Who are you!? I haven't done nothing! Go away, this is my bread!" he yelled, Fia'ye has dealt with these types before on occasion,

'Yes. And I was born last month.' she thought, with a sigh before speaking, "I'm Fia'ye Kirastugi, a knight of the Castle. I'm not sure if you've done anything wrong, and won't persecute the innocent if you didn't. But I am in an investigation and need to use the view from up here." she said smiling. Though she felt bad for the child, she placed her spear against the wall, and nodded,

"Here. It's not much, but it should help you." she said taking out about fifteen gold coins and holding them out, a week's pay for her. Thankfully though, Fia'ye wasn't a big spender, though she didn't need to feed herself. Since she lived with someone else. Though she kept her eyes on the dirty child.

Anatoli clock tower

The fact that their secret meeting had been broken up so quickly did not faze Talbot too much in truth. What did upset him was the fact that a knight and not a guard or militia-man had been the one to do it, knights were always tougher in a fight, he knew that one from experience.

Though he trusted Asani enough to make them invisible to most normal people, he did not trust this stranger knight who was able to discover their secret meeting spot, a new one was clearly needed. Every so gently he reached into the beggars robes around him and with his bare hand slowly unsheathed his sword, it was a hand and a half sword, good for use both with or without a shield as it allowed the wielder just that extra bit of grip on the hilt, it suited his fighting style perfectly.

He noticed the knight had placed her spear so that it lent against the wall, just a step behind her, though he wouldn't risk picking it up he gently manoeuvred himself so that the better part of his body was in between the knight and her main weapon, he was glad he rarely wore his own armour these days, else he would have made a large racket. His sword was raised and pointed just left to her spine, the point hovering unwaveringly just an inch away, the blow would take his sword through the heart, severing the veins and causing a slow death. However he was loathe to attack anyone from behind, so for now he trusted to Asani to maintain his invisibility, lest the two knights descended into fighting.

Anatoli Clocktower

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So he'd been right, the woman was a knight of the queen... The situation was certainly beginning to escalate. He could only pray that Talbot and Asani didn't do anything to foolish, not that he believed they would. Oliver frowned at the woman and forced himself to stop shaking as she placed her spear against the wall. He lowered his knife slightly and muttered "...O-Oliver. So long as you 'aint here to nick ma' things, do as you please." He continued to eye the woman suspiciously though, after all she was probably looking for them!

What she did next though really confused him, she reached straight into her pocket and pulled out a handfull of beautiful, glittering, heavy golden disks of pure monetary value, about fifteen of them, and offered them to him. Without asking for ANYTHING. Oliver was dumbfounded, and dropped his knife in shock. Was it some kind of trick? Was she going to grapple him if he tried to take them? His mind racing, Oliver came to the most logical conclusion he could think of, trade. Reluctantly, he ripped his meager loaf in two, plucked three, just three, coins from her open palm and placed half the bread into her hand before stuffing his coins into his boot. "T-Trade..." was all he could bring himself to say, still quite worked up about the whole ordeal. It wasn't really his... usual product, but he could not sell her any of his information! So bread would have to do,

Observation Room - Clock Tower -- Anatoli Capitol

Fia'ye shook her head, handing back the bread and the rest of the coins, "No, no, You keep this. This isn't me trading with you, it's me giving you what is needed Oliver." she said with her gentle smile, he wasn't used to people giving him money. She kept the money out and ready to be taken, she had enough food to sustain her, nothing like her Master's jerky and stews, which were free, but Fia'ye brushed the thought aside, she next spoke with a calm tone, as if she were smarter than he thought,

"Alright Oliver, I have a few questions, you won't be arrested. But, I wish to know why you were causing all the racket as I came up, and secondly, where and how you learnt the runes." she said with a still, yet calmed tone. There was still a lingering feeling, like there was some sort of danger, she had no real idea where, but there was some sort of danger none the less. Someone other than her and Oliver was there, yet she didn't know the true danger she was in, yet, if anything attacked from behind, she had a little bit of defense on her back, it was her sword, but at least it could deflect most things. Secondly, was her quiver, where as her bow was with her horse, which kept itself from danger, she still kept the quiver which sported a bit of metal in it for support.

Fia'ye sighed, she had probably scared the poor child, though with his knife she placed a nice square handkerchief she kept with her underneath the gold coins and bread the child gave her. She had no need for anything she placed. Though the handkerchief was something her deceased mother made for Fia'ye, the scarlet knight had no need for it compared to the child, looking at the table, Fia'ye put it back on it's broken legs, seeing some of the remaining papers, though she knew whom the child was, she had no real care, her loyalty wavered when it came to the Queen. The rebellion wasn't something she had a real problem with, she leaned upon the table and waited for Oliver to respond.

Asani Kosovani

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Anatoli Clock Tower

"Asani, make the two of you invisible and keep absolutely silent. I'll take care of the rest." Upon hearing this Asani backed against the wall, hands raised he weaved a veil over himself and talbot hiding them from "normal" vision; then again to mask their sounds and once more to wrap it around themselves. At this point Talbot and himself could be neither hear nor seen by normal means as long as they were careful. All the while Oliver went about the room causing a ruckus. Soon the intruder entered, a Knight of all things, dressed in red wielding a spear... "This could turn quite sour... tread lightly" Asani thought to the others. "I'm Fia'ye Kirastugi, a knight of the Castle. I'm not sure if you've done anything wrong, and won't persecute the innocent if you didn't. But I am in an investigation and need to use the view from up here." Asani began to disregard her as another soldier sent out on a hapless task. "Looks like they're still looking for Hood..." At this point she handed Oliver coins and they had their exchange, at the same time Asani could see Talbot moving between the knight and her weapon. Should this turn sour she clearly wouldn't be making it out unscathed. And then Asani heard words that chilled his spine "...where and how you learnt the runes." Just as he was slipping into a daydream he snapped to attention, this was clearly no ordinary knight. Asani began to delve into her mind and immediately sensed magic, though no magic he was familiar with... it seemed hot to the touch but bright, nearly indescribable on a first skim. Asani reeled back from her mind, after all those with a magic inclination can often sense scrying eyes. "Talbot, I would suggest we find a peaceful solution here, this knight seems rather capable without her weapon and I would rather not lose this headquarters just yet."

Anatoli Clocktower

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Oliver gave Fia'ye a long, odd look, then stared at the outstretched hand, holding coins, bread, his knife, and a handkerchief. He then stared back up at the knight... and his resolve broke. This woman was genuinely trying to help him, with little to no thought as to how she might benefit... he couldn't lie to someone like that. He sighed heavily, took back his knife and his bread, and closed her hand around the coin and hankie. "Y-Your kindness is appreciated... but truthfully I have no need of this either." He stood up, walked to his belongings in the corner, and put his knife away.
Asani, you and Talbot should leave now. I can't lie to her anymore... but you two can still get away. Who knows? Maybe she'll even help us! That's the vibe I'm getting anyway.
He pulled out a piece of cloth and wiped his dirtied face with it and pushed his hair back before walking back to the now rickety table and sitting down across from the red knight.

"Obviously, you already know who I am and why I made such a racket. Well, you would be correct, but before I answer any of your other questions... I must ask one of my own." Oliver looked quite different now. Sure his clothes were still dirty and his hair looked like a bit of a wreck, but his demeanor had changed and his were eyes sharp and focused.
"When you came up here, you said you were in the midst of an investigation, not "in pursuit of criminals". This tells me that you aren't yet sure who the guilty party in this grand mess called Anatoli is. Not yet anyway. So please, tell me this. What do you truly think about the queen?"